History Repeating: Angela's Turn
by IronGiant Mobile
Summary: First it was Edward and Bella. A strange love connection between and human and vampire. Could history repeat itself when a new Cullen, David, comes to town? Will Angela have her chance to stay in the story?
1. Chapter 1: Going Back

Chapter 1:

Going Back

If I had a beating heart it would probably be ready to give out any moment now.

In just another minute I would break through the thick forest I had been traveling through for the past day and a half. It spread all the way from Vancouver to the little town called Forks. I most assuredly could have made the small trip in half a day at the most, but I found myself pulling back, knowing each minute I was getting closer.

The last couple of trees past and a small clearing stood before me, the calming sounds of a river echoing off the trees. A vintage white house was planted at the edge of the clearing, and I couldn't quite suppress a smile at the sight of it.

As I approached the front door of the house a man opened it, ready to greet me. Carlisle Cullen. His young face was full of warmth and welcome, an expression I wasn't expecting. "David, you sure took your time getting here." He placed a hand on my shoulder and motioned me inside.

"Oh, just taking in the scenery. I forgot how green it is here." Carlisle chuckled and closed the door behind us. The rest of the Cullen family was waiting inside, all standing around each other as if they were waiting to welcome a family member back from a long vacation or college.

"David," Esme said with a smile as she stepped forward touching my arm. She seemed to study my face for a moment and then hugged me. "We're so glad you've come back to visit!"

"It's really nice to see you all again." Esme gently squeezed my arm and then stepped back to let everyone else greet me. They all took their turns to get a good look at me and get in their welcome; hugging, laughing, and making wise cracks at me. Emmett hadn't changed a bit.

A girl stood at the rear of Edward, seeming slightly nervous, but definitely attempting to hide it. "Ah, and who is this?" I could instantly cross out "lunch" because I was very aware of the Cullen's views of feeding. Like myself, they were 'vegetarian' vampires.

"This is Bella," Edward replied. It took me a moment to register the scent of her. I had noticed it from the moment I stepped onto the porch, but the little reunion with the Cullens had distracted my normal scene of awareness.

Understanding flooded into my head. Like Edward I had access to the minds around me, yet my strange ability operated in a slightly different way. It's like everyone's mind is a computer and I am an expert hacker, easily accessing all the information in it, as well as being able to add or take out files. "Hello, Bella. I'm David. It's very nice to meet you."

My courtesy seemed to ease her a bit and she stepped forward, no longer hiding in the shadow of Edward, "It's nice to meet you too."

What an interesting girl.

"So, shall we move to the couches and catch up a little?" Carlisle suggested. I couldn't help but register his growing happiness. To him it was like a son coming home. That thought sent a slight shiver of guilt through me. And although I had only stayed with the Cullen's for a few months, I still left without a word. Not to mention I did get seemingly close with all of them.

"Of course, I'm sure you guys have as much to tell as I do. Edward, for example, has some explaining to do."

"You say that like you don't already know," Edward teased. It was true that I didn't _need_ him to verbally explain, but things always appear clearer when you hear them first hand. And as a courtesy to others, I tend usually stay out of people's heads as much as possible, it's easier for me to block the information surge than it is for Edward.

Surprisingly Bella seemed to understand the joke like the rest of us, which probably meant she had been filled in a good deal. I wondered how they had portrayed me, and it took a great deal of will power not to tap Edward's memory and find out.

"So where the hell have you been?" Emmett asked once we had all been seated. He boomed out in laughter and I smirked back at him. He _definitely _hadn't changed.

I took in a deep breathe of air and slowly let it out, "I suppose I owe you guys a good explanation."

"Oh, we know why you left, David." Alice said raising an eyebrow. It reminded me of a mother catching her five year old trying to get a cookie before dinner. I had assumed she would have seen something about me leaving.

"Well I'd like to explain anyway, if that's alright."

"Of course, go ahead," Esme's expression had changed slightly. She seemed a bit troubled now, yet still had a glimmer of happiness.

"You surely remember Richard and Todd, the two heads of the coven I had left before I came here and found you." There was silence, though I knew that was a yes. They all knew this part, but I had to start from the beginning, maybe then they'd understand better. Bella seemed sincerely interested, and again I wondered how much she really knew. "It was a bit foolish of me to think they'd really been gone from my life. Carlisle, you of course were right, in killing Luke and Monica it set off a lust for my head inside Richard. He and Todd quickly recovered and wasted no time in finding recruits for their new "hunting-David-squad", one of which was actually an excellent hunter."

"You should have told us," Rosalie spoke for the first time since her quick hello and smile.

"But I was foolish, I didn't pay attention and thought that I was too far away from them that they'd simply move on."

"And what about when they finally came after you? You felt the need to hurry off without warning us, or even considering that we might want to help you?" Rosalie's voice raised a little, more for intensity than anger.

Bella seemed a bit lost. Turning directly towards her I cleared up some gaps; explaining how I had insulted the coven's way of life, for they had steadily gotten more brutal in their killing of humans, and how the intense conversation sparked into a fight once I declared I was leaving their "sorry God-dammed souls", and how in a four-against-one fight it's hard to not kill some of your attackers. When I had killed two of them, one being Richard's mate, they retreated and I fled northwest.

"I met Jasper then. It was only shortly after he had fled his life in the South. He was trying to find his place and so was I. It wasn't hard for us to become friends but I was still too wary to settle down in one location so I went on North into Canada." Jasper sat next to Alice, opposite from me. His face was smooth but his eyes purposely didn't meet mine. I could tell he was thrilled to see me, alive. But he also looked upset, as if I were describing my actual death to him. The silence caused him to look up at me. He nodded for me to continue.

"To sum things up, after I felt relatively safe that no one was coming after me, or at least able to find me I stumbled upon and old friend. Jasper had met Alice by now and moved in with the Cullens, becoming part of their family."

"I of course was welcomed to stay as long as I wanted. But it was hard for me to resign myself to a sure location. Yet I gave it a try."

The room was dead silent and even without my ability to know exactly what everyone was thinking and feeling I would have been well aware of the troubled reactions this part of the story was causing. I was approaching the reason I left. "Within about three and a half months I had gotten rather close to everyone, Bella, and it started to feel like home. But of course my idiocy from early was sure to come back and give me my just reward."

"David, honey, stop talking poorly of yourself, just tell us what happened," Esme said with an edged kindness. To me it seemed like she was being too forgiving, indirectly saying I didn't deserve to be so hard on myself.

"Yes, ma'am, where was I?" I tried to seem polite and nonchalant, but my voice rattled a bit and gave away my nervousness. "I went hunting alone one day. Not for any particular reason, but everyone else had been in school or at work. I didn't have any type of human commitment to blend me into the town, because I hadn't made an official notion that I was permanently going to stay."

I started to talk to everyone in the room rather than just Bella. "I would suppose you saw me fighting Richard and Todd, Alice."

"It was very blurred. You were caught so off guard your decisions were muddled. I could only see you fighting and then leaving."

"Yes, well they weren't alone. It wasn't so easy to fight them by myself this time," I saw Emmett's face contort as if he were about to cut me off, but he didn't. "I struck three of the seven down before I started to move. I was faster than all of them except one. He was their tracker, very agile, very fast. And apparently we were far enough from Forks that they didn't detect enough of all your scents to realize you'd still be there rather than just nomads that had passed by."

"I started to think of what I should do. Part of me wanted to return to town and ask for help, but that would have caused a lot of trouble as I'm sure you could imagine."

"You didn't have to run, David," Alice spoke, "you knew perfectly well that I would have seen something and we would have come to help. You didn't want our help."

"That is true. I didn't want to put you in danger or inconvenience you—"

"Inconvenience us?" Jasper was looking right at me, "are you really that foolish, David?"

"You were becoming part of our family; we would have helped you without a moment's hesitation. Inconvenience certainly is a foolish way to look at it," Carlisle added with a soft but matter of fact expression.

"You were the first _family_ I'd ever known. Whether or not it was foolish I didn't want to bring my own past down upon you. So I lead them south and then headed east. I killed two more, including Todd. Yet Richard and the hunter apparently were an even better team then Richard and Todd had been. They picked up some more help every now and then. Within three years we were huddled around the Middle East coast. They would have there sparks of attacks every now and then but together Richard and the hunter mastered the art of running away the moment there chances of a clear win were broken."

I sighed, "In my head I told myself I'd clean this up and then come back, explain, and then move on living as a Cullen. But it took much longer to resolve this than I had planned. I even had to get my own aid occasionally. Then for a few years everything was calm and I saw nothing of Richard. I went north to upstate New York and settled down a bit, yet it wasn't anything I'd have trouble leaving. The two finally made their last attempt one day in the winter and I made certain to not let them escape. I don't know why they chose this time to attack without any help or distraction. Perhaps Richard couldn't stand the wait anymore and just desperately wanted to avenge Monica. But I finished it."

"That was six years ago. I continued to live in New York. I played in a Broadway Orchestra for a while."

"You didn't return," Esme spoke. It seemed _this_ was what she had really been waiting for. Her features showed sadness now. It was clear no one was mad at me, like I had been expecting.  
"I was… afraid. I didn't know what you'd think of me; perhaps a heartless monster that's involved in a bunch of revenge wars and feuds."

"David, that's absurd. You should have come right home."

"Esme, I didn't want to hurt you, any of you, I just did what I thought I had to do. And then I was afraid the consequences would keep me away regardless of if I tried to come back or not."

"If you didn't know that you'd be welcomed back home then you really are a fool," Alice said. Yet she had a smile on her face. "We were all excited when I saw you returning."

"And you're welcome to stay, David," Carlisle said.

"As long as there is no more of this foolishness about you thinking we don't care for you anymore, or whatever it is you've been going on about," Esme spoke strictly but couldn't suppress her smile fully. "We love you David, even if you'd only been family for a few months."

I found myself smiling. My biggest wish for many years was now becoming a reality.

"So will you stay?" Alice asked, her face that of a small kitten, pleading.

It took me a moment to answer. Not because I was thinking of what I would say, but more that I was overwhelmed. "Yes, I want nothing more."

"Good, I knew you'd say that," Alice winked at me. "You can share Edward's room."

Edward pretended to be mortified. "Great," he mumbled, then smirked.

"It's not like you're ever in it anymore," Rosalie commented. Bella's cheeks flooded into a blush.

We spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and even coming up with a cover for me becoming part of the family. "People are bound to take notice to you," Carlisle had commented.

But that was it, I was really staying.

I was a Cullen.


	2. Chapter 2: First Day

**Chapter 2: First Day**

Although I have lived among humans before, and have learned certain ways to act around them, such as _not_ moving at an invisible speed, going to high school was something I had not gotten used to. I had one other experience with it, and that experience was in no way a good one. The temptation had caused me to use so much will power that my mind wasn't focusing on keeping the whole "vampire-secret" a secret. People got suspicious pretty quickly and I ended up leaving town.

Edward had spent last night over at Bella's as he did every night, unless she was over here. And it was supposedly less suspicious if we all rode to school together. So Alice and I would run, which usually took less time than driving, to Bella's house and then we'd leave for Forks High School in Edward's silver Volvo.

Downstairs Esme and Rosalie sat on the couch talking about going hunting with Alice sometime next week, and then staying out an extra day for a girl's bonding time. I sat down opposite to them, not really paying attention. I was really wondering how today would end up going.

High School.

The word itself caused a rush of emotions to flood my thoughts. I knew I had excellent control when it came to humans and _not _feeding on them, but I hadn't been surrounded by a couple hundred of them all at once for a length of eight hours in quite some time. Edward had been playing the High School routine for a while when he first met Bella, and yet he still almost lost his self control completely. I had seen Edward's memory of that day first hand, and it was causing me to second guess my own self control.

Alice pranced down the stairs with her usual enthusiasm. But when she got to the bottom step she looked at me in horror. "Aren't you going to get ready?"

I cocked an eyebrow and replied icily, "Is there something wrong with the way I look?"

"It's your first day! You didn't dress special or anything! Did you even comb your hair?" Alice make a little _tsk_ sound with her tongue and continue to shake her head as she danced towards the couch.

"Alice, give David a break. He looks fine," Esme tried to defend me.

"Besides," Rosalie spoke, obviously trying not to laugh, "He's supposed to be a bit down in the dumps. He just lost his mother after all. The whole I'm-a-depressed-mess look is good for his cover."

The three of them laughed, even Esme. "Well if you three are done insulting the way I look, should we head off?" I tried to ignore their teasing chuckles and sighed. Today was most likely going to be a long day.

"Alright Mr. Grumpy, I was only making a suggestion." Alice tapped me on the shoulder, "let's go then."

I glanced briefly at my attire, a simple t-shirt with a pair of jeans. It seemed perfectly fine to me. Was I supposed to be dressed in a suit? Maybe blending in with teenage humans would take a bit more time than I had expected it would.

"Have a nice day," Esme said with a smile and waved as Alice and I exited through the front door.

"And don't forget to frown, David," Rosalie snorted.

I slammed the door a little harder than I should have and shot another hard glance towards Alice, "You could be more supporting. You know, making today easier on me and all that."

"And where is the fun in that, I ask you?" her smile was less teasing this time and more sincere. It made me smile back. And without speaking a word to each other we both took off into a sudden rupture of flight, our feet barely grazing the grass as we began to dodge through the thick forest that we'd have to follow to Bella's house.

I felt a soft tingle in the back of my head, something I usually felt when someone was purposely trying to get me to access their thoughts. _You'll do fine_, the message came in loud and clear, even over the roar of the wind as it rushed past us, almost angry that it was being pushed aside. _I know you will, I can see these things. Call me special…_I smirked and replied back.

_Thanks._

Bella's house came into view shortly after our brief mind-to-mind conversation. Compared to the Cullen's house, I sometimes had to remind myself that now it was _my_ house as well, Bella's was a small storage dump. It was hard to believe a family actually lived in it. Yet throughout the month I'd spent in Forks so far, I'd been inside of the house numerous times. I met Charlie, Bella's dad, and had seen the cramped living room, kitchen, and even Bella's room. Three nights ago Alice, Jasper, and I even stayed over for a night.

It was nice to get to know Bella, and I felt myself becoming as close to her as I was with everyone else. She was becoming family as well, which was a hard thought to process. Me, being family with a human.

Alice knocked on the front door and after a moment Charlie opened it with a smile, "Hey you _three_." Edward had of course appeared by our side the instant Alice had knocked. Charlie then extended a more personal welcome to Alice, always a bit cold toward Edward, and still wary of me. But I suppose I had to give him credit, he was warming up to me.

"Bella, your party's here," Charlie called out when he was done asking Alice how'd she been.

Bella then came racing down the stairs, catching her rhythm on her own foot, and almost falling flat of her face. Her cheeks were flushing to a rosy color by the time she stepped out of the door ready to go. This particular trait of hers I found fascinating and I knew it drove Edward wild. All it took were some quick goodbyes to Charlie and soon we were off towards the high school.

"Edward and I agreed it'd be a good idea if I told Jessica David's story right away, that way it'd probably be over the entire school by lunchtime," Bella announced, a bit amused by the idea.

My story, or cover, was that I am the cousin of Japer and Rosalie Hale who just lost his mother and only parent. Carlisle and Esme, who was my aunt, adopted me with the drop of a hat, willing to take me in as their own son. I've spent the last month living with the rest of the Cullen's to get adjusted and composed to the change and am now going to attend the last two months of the senior year at Forks High to complete my education and to keep my mind busy. Personally I didn't think the story sounded very believable at all, yet Edward reassured me that the kids at school would believe practically anything. And by letting a blabber mouth like Jessica inform the entire school of my tragic situation, I wouldn't be quite so suspicious. At first I wasn't even going to attend school with Edward and Alice due to there only being two months left, yet it helped to back up my cover and we all agreed that it wouldn't do any harm.

Nothing special was going to happen.

"Oh, that's perfect!" Alice snickered. "Finally her loud speaker of a mouth will have some good use!"

I nodded, "Whatever helps is fine with me."

In just a moment more we were pulling into the parking lot. Getting out of the car I was immediately aware of several sets of eyes that were already staring at me in shock. _Another one..?_ A girl's thoughts slipped into my head as she walked past us, not attempting in the least to hide her curiosity.

"Oh, here's your schedule David," Alice sang out as she handed me a lime-green sheet of paper. It had my name, "David Eric Cullen" printed in bold on it and then listed my classes in chronological order. "You have this class with me, this one with Edward and Bella, this one with all three of us, lunch, and then you're last two hours alone."

It only took me a moment to study the class subjects and then a second more to memorize the map of the school. Three classes alone, three not alone. I could already guess which periods would be the extensively boring ones.

Alice and I then began to head off to first hour Spanish while Bella and Edward approached a very curious Jessica Stanley, who was crowded by several other curious girls. I took a quick notice to one girl in particular who was standing more behind the small crowd, less involved. Her expression was slightly different, more genuine perhaps. All their faces slipped out of sight as Alice and I turned a corner.

Most of my classes went by quicker than I had been expecting. During Spanish class Alice and I shared another mind-to-mind conversation. _The girl up front thinks I might be a criminal who's here to lie low for a while, _I informed her, almost chuckling out loud.

_Well, David, you do look very vicious. Perhaps that's how your hair got such a vibrant color, all the blood turned it auburn,_ Alice smiled sweetly at the irony to her statement.

_If that was the case they wouldn't be entirely far off._

The girl sitting in front of me then turned around ready to ask me something. But when her eyes met mine her mouth fell open, and no words came out. After a long pause she slowly turned back around and shrank down in her chair. _She wanted a pencil, _I informed Alice who look more than amused.

_That's not all she wanted._

Second hour I shared with Bella and Edward. Jessica Stanley was also in the class, and provided plenty of thoughts that gave both Edward and me much amusement.

_Oh he's gorgeous… And he's completely single. No one could possibly steal him from me…_Her thoughts made me feel a little uncomfortable. I could see Edward smirking out of the corner of my eye. _Who needs that rotten Edward anyhow? This one's just as stunning! Oh, he even has red-gold hair! Stupid Edward Cullen…_

_Well it looks like someone hasn't entirely gotten over you, _I said to Edward, attempting to get back at him for mocking me.

_Yet who is her knew "gorgeous" crush?_ He retorted with a laugh that he disguised as a cough.

Third period was the most enjoyable part of the day thus far. Edward, Alice, and Bella were all in it with me. Although by now I was getting increasingly irritated by hearing the same thoughts repeatedly. Were all humans _exactly_ the same? Perhaps if I found someone with a more original mind, it wouldn't be so bad to listen to them question me over in their thoughts. It might even be interesting. But by the looks of it so far, I wasn't going to have much luck with that.

Fourth hour came and I was now all alone. Biology seemed to go by much slower than the rest of the day had. But I was lucky enough to get a spot at an empty back table; in fact the whole back row was empty. As the second hand began to tick slower and slower I resorted to listening in on some conversations. I wasn't very surprised that I couldn't find anything interesting to listen to. Eventually the bell rang, releasing me from this hell of boredom and repetition. It was time for lunch.

Great.

When I walked into the cafeteria I might as well have been sounding a blow horn in everyone's ears. Every set of eyes turned towards me as I walked by, as if to see where the source of a deafening sound was. So many people were talking and thinking about me that it became almost a challenge to block them all out. _Let them chatter_, I told myself. It didn't matter; they were only humans that I'd never see again after these two unnecessary months.

On our way to the lunch line Alice and Bella warned me that we wouldn't be the only ones at our table; a girl named Angela would be sitting with us. She was Bella's good friend and had been sitting with them for a while. She used to be accompanied by a boy, Ben, but they weren't involved anymore. It wasn't hard to see they were all found of her, especially Bella. Apparently this Angela wasn't as droll as all the other humans in this school seemed to be. Perhaps she'd almost be as interesting as Bella. After all, she just didn't _know_ she hung around vampires.

After a ten minute, and unnecessary, wait to get _food, _the three of us sat down at our deserted lunch table. Alice and I sat across from Bella and Edward, leaving the end spot open for Angela so she could sit opposite to Bella. Alice then questioned me on what I thought about my first day so far but I didn't have much to say; it wasn't anything that Edward and Alice hadn't experienced themselves. And I hadn't had any trouble with keeping my self control in check. In all the day was going very smoothly. Horrifically smoothly.

"Hi everyone," a quiet voice spoke, addressing the four of us. I instantly recognized her as the same girl I had taken a slight notice to earlier in the front courtyard. Although up close I could study her face more clearly. She wore an expression of sincere kindness edged with nervousness. A pretty face.

"Hi Angela," Bella and Alice said in unison. Edward and I greeted her as well. She seemed simple enough, and it was easy to tell I was the only thing making her a bit nervous. I couldn't decide if it was my physical appearance, or me just being a new acquaintance that was making her shy. Edward and Alice didn't affect her like I seemed to be. Perhaps it was a mixture of the two.

Angela sat down next to me with a slight hesitation in her movement. I studied her closely and found myself wondering if she was afraid of me. But I couldn't quite tell myself why I cared.

"This is our brother, David. David, this is Angela," Edward calmly introduced us.

"It's nice to meet you," I said smiling down at the girl. She sat quiet for a moment looking up at me before she returned the smile.

"I-It's nice to meet you too," she stuttered slightly and her gaze stuck to me long after she was finished speaking. Angela seemed to eventually realize this and suddenly ripped her eyes from me to her food, shaking her head as if to snap out of a daydream. Her hair to swayed in my direction and I caught a strong whiff of her scent as a few strands grazed my cheek. It was absolutely _enchanting_. No human's scent had ever had quite the aroma that this girl's did. I felt it starting to draw me in.

Edward's posture stiffened. I had let lose of my thoughts, allowing him to gain access to them.

Disregarding _everything_ my mind trailed off, thinking of the alluring scent. It was entrancing and seemed to tug at all my nerves. I grew stiff as a board. "David," Edward's voice snapped me back into the cafeteria, "have you been given any homework yet?" He eyed me sharply with his gaze, still trying to read my thoughts. I instantly pushed him out; rebuilding the block I usually carefully kept up.

"A little. But nothing much, I finished most of it in class already," I tried let him know with my facial expression that I was in complete control, though I was also trying to tell myself the same.

Alice's eyes quickly flickered from me to back to Bella. She never broke the rhythm of the story she was currently telling. Bella took a second to take in all three of our facial expressions and posture. She swallowed harshly, assuming close to what the other two were thinking. Angela remained oblivious, still looking down and picking at her food.

_I'm fine,_ I said to Edward and Alice. But just to make sure I decided to stop breathing. I hadn't lost my self control. Her scent had only enchanted me. Perhaps the problem was simply I hadn't been _this_ close to a human all day. And maybe Angela just had a particularly alluring scent to her. Not a big deal. Tomorrow I simply wouldn't sit next to her and we could carry on with the next two months without any predicaments once so ever. I was in full control of the situation and would remain so.

With a slightly new since of relief I looked down upon Angela again. She seemed to be trying to resist the urge to look back up at my face. Then surely she did and our eyes locked.

"So… h-how long have you been in town?" Angela spat out, trying to make the moment less awkward. It was easy to tell she wasn't used to small talk, and stumbled over herself as she attempted it.

"Oh, about a month. I've just been getting used to the change," I hoped I was looking solemn enough. Angela probably wouldn't notice either way.

Bella and Alice continued their conversation, with Edward adding in his slight commentary every now and then. All three were keeping their eyes on me. I ignored their glares.

"It must be hard," Angela commented with sympathy in her voice. She must have heard about me apparently losing my mother.

"It's sure no parade, but I'm coping." I felt odd lying face to face with someone. So far nobody had the courage to ask me straight out why I was here. Everyone got filled in through the gossip channel that apparently connected throughout every student's mind in the school. Even some of the teachers knew the story.

Angela nodded her head, perfectly comfortable with leaving the conversation at that. For the remainder of lunch most of us kept quiet, with the exception of Alice who rapidly switched topics.

When the bell rang we all rose too eagerly and excited the cafeteria, Angela walking at Bella's side and Edward walking at mine.

"Do you need to go home?" he asked me in such a low voice that Bella and Angela wouldn't be able to hear.

"I told you, I'm fine. It wasn't what you thought, I just got caught off guard," I responded in the same whisper. Edward grunted, not thoroughly satisfied, but he said nothing else. It came time for us to part ways and everyone exchanged a brief goodbye. My eye's caught Angela's for a moment before I shook the connection off by turning away after a short, "See you." Grumbling, I headed towards the gym. Once again I was being foolish, which seemed to be an increasingly typical trait of mine.

Entering the gym I headed to the locker room and changed quicker than most of the guys that had been in there before me. The coach gave me a brief explanation of the sport we were currently playing and I assured her I was fit to jump right in. But of course, there would be a complication.

When you have such extensive reflexes such as a vampire does, it's hard to try and seem _normal_ while playing volleyball. Several times during PE I had to remind myself that humans couldn't jump _that_ high, nor hit _that_ hard. By the end of the period I had declared the class utterly annoying. Maybe tomorrow I'd skip it.

My annoyance didn't last long though because as I was walking to my next class it became apparent to me that the day was almost over. Although Edward was sure to interrogate me on what had happened during lunch, it wasn't near as bad as being here at school.

I came around the last corner that would lead to my class and instantaneously let out a grumble. Alice was standing ten feet in front of me, her innocent features plastered into a simple grimace. If I had been paying any attention I would have easily known she'd be sitting there waiting for me, and would have taken an alternate route to class. But no, I had to be day dreaming.

"Alice, let's do this after school, alright? Even though there's nothing to explain."

"David, you're being careful, right?" she had apparently ignored everything I just said.

"Of course I am. Honestly, the last thing I want to do is bring any trouble to you guys. But there's truly nothing to worry about. Lunch was _just _me getting caught off guard. It will not happen again."

Alice took a moment to just stare at me. She surprised me by leaning in and hugging me. "I trust you. Just promise me you'll be careful."

I couldn't quite describe how Alice was acting. Her tone wasn't exactly worried, but more concerned, for _me. _I was tempted to tap into her mind and find out just what she was thinking. Obviously there was a deeper meaning to this little chat. But at the rate I had been going today, I'd undoubtedly, and accidentally, read everything there was to read inside her head. I just wasn't comfortable with invading her privacy _that _much.

"I promise."

Alice let go of me and looked in my eyes one more time, as if she were confirming something, "...I know." With that she wheeled around and headed towards her last class and I continued onward to mine.

Walking into the class I analyzed the seating arrangements. Due to Alice's unusual pep talk I had been the last one to enter; only two desks were left. One was in the back corner and the other was in more of the back middle of the room. My instincts, as well as common sense, told me to take the corner seat.

It took a second for the scent to reach my nostrils, but when it finally did my whole body was stunned. I tried to stop my breathing but the enchantment of the scent wouldn't let me. Its affects seemed stronger than the last.

"Mr. Cullen," the teacher, Mr. Rockwell said. "Welcome to class. I'd expect, now that you know the school better that you'll arrive on time tomorrow?"

The interruption gave my brain a moment of relapse, giving it time to stop my breathing. "Yes, sir." I took a glance over my shoulder and spotted Angela, who was sitting in front of the open middle seat. She was looking down, and had apparently noticed me as well.

"You may take your seat. Right there in the back, behind Angela." _Dammit. _

I considered my chances of him letting me sit in the corner. A quick glance in his head confirmed my doubt. Mr. Rockwell wasn't a man that'd consider a negotiation with a student, especially not with one of those godly looking, obnoxiously aloof, and incomprehensively smart Cullen's. Or so he would say.

I just wouldn't be able to breathe all class. I could handle this.

Slowly I approached my seat, trying not to even look at the girl sitting in front of me. It wasn't difficult to tell Angela was even shyer than she had been at lunch. But it dawned on me that I couldn't just ignore her, she had no idea anything was wrong. There was also the unexplainable urge to talk to her. Angela interested me, much like Bella did, yet somewhat differently.

"Hey, Angela," I said quietly. I tried to make it sound like just a greeting, not a start of a conversation.

Angela had no problem with my plan and mumbled a little hello before turning her attention back to her note book. She was doodling aimlessly, trying to focus her attention on something simple.

Mr. Rockwell spoke to the class briefly, passed out some poems for us to analyze, and then sat down to leave us to our work. I didn't realize that I was staring at Angela, analyzing _her _until she held out her hand to give me my poem. I had to fight another urge to touch her skin. Such an incredibly unexplainable, unreasonable, and very foolish desire.

Within the next five minutes I had gone over every detail of her I could see; from her silky strands of honey brown hair to the faint view of her spinal cord running down her thin back.

Angela, like most of the class was done with her poem. She now seemed to be applying all her attention on twirling her pencil in between three fingers, until she dropped it. With a small bounce it rolled towards me and stopped at my foot. Angela had already begun to bend over to retrieve it, but abruptly froze before sitting back up in her chair. I couldn't quite suppress a smile as I snatched up the pencil and held it out to her, "I believe this is yours."

She turned around in her chair and faced me, making sure not to look me directly in the eyes, "Oh, thanks. I didn't see where it went..."

"No trouble." I was still smirking.

After a moment she asked, "So are you happy your first day is almost over?" Angela was forcing herself to make small talk again, although she did appear to be calmer then last time we spoke.

"Very."

Angela smiled and raised her gaze a bit, her eyes moving from my collar to my mouth. "I guess I don't blame you. Bella felt the same way on her first day, last year, too."

"How long have you and Bella been friends?"

"We first met when she moved here last year, but I guess we didn't really become good friends until this year." When Angela finished she seemed a bit surprised that she had openly answered without fail. For a moment her eyes flickered to mine and then back to my lips. I smiled at her again.

"She's definitely a special girl, Edward's lucky."

"Yeah, Bella's easy to get along with." Angela nodded.

For a moment both of us just sat in silence. I was staring at her face now, studying every feature. Angela's skin was smooth and gentle, and its porcelain tone went nicely with her ocean blue eyes.

Then her gaze met mine, determined.

"What about you, how well do you know the Cullens?" Her big, deep eyes were locked on mine. She was curious about me. Although I could still hear her rapidly beating heart, Angela had smoothed out her breathing.

"I lived in New York before I moved here. I rarely saw any family at all, and hadn't seen the Cullen's in years. But when I needed a new home they didn't hesitate to put me up."

"They adopted you… didn't they?" Angela seemed embarrassed that she had gotten more personal.

"Yes, they did. And they already seem like family, closer than any I've ever known."

Angela didn't respond, but I could tell she was thinking about something. I was very tempted to read her mind, but it seemed wrong. Not quite the same way that it would feel wrong to trace Alice's _entire_ memory. That was mainly concerning family ethics. With Angela it was simply that I couldn't will myself to do it, I didn't _want_ to. Although at the same time, I very much did. Angela kept making me experience things I just couldn't understand.

This soon had me thinking of Bella, and how I _couldn't_ access her mind at all. Sometimes I could get a vague understanding of what she was feeling, but it wasn't exactly entering her mind, more like skimming the outskirts. Angela wasn't the same; I knew I could read her thoughts if I wanted to.

"Do you have any plans for college?" I tried to continue the conversation.

"No. I did… but they aren't going to work out now."

"Why is that?" Angela paused for a moment and then met my eyes again.

"My parents are moving to Southern New Mexico near my aunt. The only reason I was going to the one college I've considered is so I'd be close to home. I don't really want to go there anymore." Angela took in a breath, "What about you?"

"It's most assuredly not the biggest thing on my mind," I flashed a smile at her. I was positive her heart skipped a beat. "I guess I'll follow Edward and Alice."

Angela nodded, still facing me. She seemed to be more incoherent than she had been all class. Her gentle eyes brows lowered in concentration, as if she was now studying me.

Then the bell rang, releasing us for the day. Angela and I both slowly stood. Again, my instincts told me to race out of the room and get into Edward's car as soon as possible, which would only take a few seconds. But, of course, I didn't.

Angela and I walked out of the class room in silence. Once we got to the parking lot my eyes flickered to Edward's Volvo. No one was there yet.

"Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then, at lunch." I looked down at her face, giving her one last smile.

"…And in math," Angela said softly. Horror took over her face and she fluttered for words, "…Bella told me we are all in the same class." She didn't want me to get the "wrong idea". "I wasn't there today though, I had a doctor's appointment."

Great, a class where Edward and Alice could observe my confusing interest in this girl first hand. Just what I need.

"Till math, then," I smiled with a small nod.

"See you then," Angela said softly and then turned around, hastily heading towards her car.

So foolish.


	3. Chapter 3: Realization

**Chapter 3: Realization**

Lucky for me, Edward didn't feel like beginning his tirade of interrogation in front of Bella. Once we got to her house Edward stepped out of the car to walk her to the door. I could faintly hear their conversation, but I wasn't paying any attention to it. There was only one person on my mind. Alice sat next to me, gazing at my hand, deep in thought.

Before long Edward was back in the driver seat, the car racing away from the Swan's residence. Even with Bella's absence the silence remained. We weren't far from home when Edward pulled the car over. Both he and Alice looked directly at me. Edward seemed a bit frustrated, but not quite _angry_. Alice seemed, like before, concerned for me.

I was just about to speak, but Edward beat me to it. "You're keeping things from us," he said simply.

"No, I'm not," it was all I could get out. I myself didn't know what to think of today. I had experienced so many things that I was very unfamiliar with; I needed time to sort everything out in my head. Yet, still, there was a longing to see Angela again. It was a constant curiosity that vibrated at the back of my thoughts.

Edward's expression softened. It was all too clear that he didn't know how to respond either. "Angela had an effect on you." His eyes were studying my face carefully. His thoughts informed me that he was frustrated with not being able to read my mind.

"As I already informed _both_ of you, she caught me off guard. Besides that, yes, I'll admit she is slightly interesting. One of two humans in that school that has a unique mind. The only one in which I can read. Yet it's not cause for any concern."

Both of them seemed to consider this for a moment. Neither believed me. Yet it seemed enough to close up the conversation. "We all trust you," Edward said before starting the car once again.

Alice placed her hand on mine, smiling now. "We really do. We know you'll be careful. After all, Angela is an interesting person, who could blame you?"

_Don't encourage him…_I heard Edward think to himself. His eyes met mine in the review mirror. We both looked away, feeling a bit uncomfortable. I was beginning to understand what they were thinking, that my attraction to Angela is very similar to Edward's with Bella. I shook this thought from my mind. It was too much for me to consider right now.

When we arrived home Esme was waiting to greet us. I briefly explained my day, skipping the part about Angela; I knew that Edward would talk to her about it later.

"I'm glad it turned out alright for you," Esme squeezed my arm gently, then went over to the couch and sat down. Rosalie came down the stairs, smiling slightly.

"Don't get too comfortable, David, we're going out," Rosalie informed me.

"Oh? Are we?" I asked skeptically.

"Yup, we're going to take you to Port Angeles to get some more clothes and anything else really," Alice chimed in. They had been planning this all day, and I had been too distracted to notice.

"I suppose I don't have any choice in the matter. Alright then," I shrugged and flung my arm around Alice. We spun around, heading out to Rosalie's red convertible. Going out to town would possibly distract me from the jumbled mess that was currently muddling my mind. Last time Alice and Rosalie took me shopping I barely had time to register all the clothing they were forcing me to try on.

On the way there the three of us talked casually. Alice was fully back to her peppy self, all concern from earlier gone from her face. I was relieved that she didn't feel the need to bring Angela up with Rosalie, who would assuredly react poorly.

Once we arrived in town we went to a men's department store where I obtained several new wardrobes. I tried to explain to Rosalie that I didn't need so many clothing articles, but she just rolled her eyes at me. "Don't be silly."

After spending an hour on clothes, Alice insisted I needed some art supplies. I enjoy painting and sketching briefly. By now I learned to just let the two get me whatever they wanted. There was absolutely no use in arguing.

"Anything else?" Alice asked me once we were back in the car. The back seat next to Alice was filled with various bags full of unnecessary items.

"No, I'm pretty sure we'll have a hard enough time fitting all this in Edward's room. But thanks," I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, we'll get ride of some of his stuff if we need to."

The ride home was too short, my distraction had come and gone much too fast. Edward was at Bella's by the time we got back. I decided that I might as well paint, which kept me preoccupied for a good portion of the night. But when I finished and realized what I had painted, I couldn't ignore it anymore. I sat down, and thought of Angela.

A few hours went by before I decided I needed something to at least keep part of my brain busy. I sat on Edward's couch, and began to doodle on a new pad of sketch paper, my mind still aimlessly thinking over today's events. I felt a bit out of place being in Edward's room, while he was out with Bella, using it as my own. Esme promised that she was cleaning out the room next door for me, and that it would soon be ready. I didn't wish to inconvenience her, but I couldn't deny that I'd feel much more comfortable with my own room.

A light rap on the door tore my eyes off my sketch book page. It was Jasper. _Can I come in?_ I heard his thoughts loud and clear.

"Sure," I replied out loud, placing the pad and pencil on the floor. He opened the door, looking at me suspiciously.

"What are you doing up here all alone? Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice are having a "classic movie's marathon" downstairs, you know," it was easy to tell his enthusiasm was less than genuine.

"Just thinking, and drawing. Alice insisted on buying me all this stuff, I need to put it to use sometime," I shrugged.

Jasper grinned, "She's just happy, and wants to make sure you are too."

"I'm not complaining. Alice is a treasure. You're lucky you found her."

"Well, technically she found me, long before I knew anything about her," Jasper chuckled to himself, reliving the memory in his head. I knew this because it was playing in my mind as well, reading it straight from his. "How about we go hunting, you and me."

"Sure." During the past month I've been here Jasper and I hadn't gotten much time to catch up one-on-one.

Downstairs we informed the movie-watchers that we were going to head out, receiving a brief wave from each. "_We're_ sure going to be missed," Jasper said with a chuckle.

Jasper knew which areas were the best hunting grounds far better than I did, so he took the lead. We both took off, hurtling over the ground like a group of cheetahs. As the trees began to thicken, causing us to have to weave in and out in an erratic pattern, Jasper spoke up. His verbal words were instantaneously engulfed by the wind speeding in the opposite direction of us, but his thoughts registered in my mind crystal clear, _You're planning on explaining why you're so confused, aren't you?_

_Not really_, I replied with a groan. All hope of distracting me from the topic of Angela was completely lost with this family. It wouldn't be long before Rosalie would be questioning me. I considered whipping Jasper's memory, but sadly rejected the idea.

_You better change your plans then, because I want to know._

_Perhaps part of the reason I'm so confused, is because no one is giving me a damn moment to organize my thoughts! Everyone just keeps questioning me. _I was intent on staying strong. I didn't want to talk about this. Or think about this.

_So something did happen, _Jasper replied in his head with satisfaction.

_Only a very vague something. A girl at school caught my attention today. Her scent was unusually alluring, yet it didn't make me ravenous, or as far as I could tell it didn't. She wasn't like all the rest of the humans. She reminded me of Bella, she was interesting. But that's it, nothing more._

_It certainly seems like nothing. _Jasper spat sarcastically.

_And what makes you think it is something? How can you interpret that from just one day? _I was getting a bit annoyed; at myself more than Jasper. _Do you want me to go feed on this girl?_

_No, I know you won't harm her. It just seems similar to—_

_Well it's not, _I snapped at him. It was very evident what Jasper was referring to, even before I heard the thought forming in his mind. We were both quiet for a while.

_You'll let me know once you figure it out though, right? _Jasper finally thought, breaking the temporary calm in my head.

_I suppose I owe you that much._

The two of us quieted again, getting closer to the area Jasper had been leading us to. Roughly two hundred yards away, a pack of mountain lions were resting in a small clearing, having just finished their own hunting. Conversation would be over until after Jasper and I finished feeding, which wouldn't take long.

Letting go of all self control, I gave in to my natural, predator instincts. I leaped forward and attacked.

Jasper and I found a cliff, a drop-off revealing a view of the green, sappy sea below and perched ourselves on its edge. The luminous moon, accompanied by a couple million stars, broke the darkness of the sky, an unusual sight in Forks. Its glow reflected off our pale skin and exposed a better view of our surroundings.

"How much of your life was consumed by fighting?" Jasper asked. It was only natural that he'd want to know more about all the years I spent fighting Richard and the hunter. He too spent a portion of his life surrounded by violence. Jasper could empathize with me.

"It wasn't as bad as I may have made it out to be. True, I did get attacked frequently, but they were usually short attacks, followed by a couple of months in solitude. I was able to live among people quite often, actually. And due to me frequently having to relocate, it was easy to avoid too much suspicion."

Jasper nodded. "Richard always seemed like a coward."

"Believe me, friend, he was. A hate filled one at that," I shook my head, reliving the memories. In a way I hated Richard for keeping me from the Cullens; from becoming a Cullen. He took my chance of family, and sometimes I had considered hunting _him_. Yet I never could force myself to follow through with it, the "blood lust" never really came to court. I conjure that's a good sign. Maybe it meant I wasn't _too_ much of a monster.

"You weren't ever tempted to change your eating habits?" he asked.

Jasper's question caught me off guard; I had been staying out of his thoughts since we fed.

"No…" I replied skeptically.

"Don't misunderstand me. I admire you for your dedication, Lord knows I do, but I just don't see how you did it. I struggle immensely every day, and I have a family, and my true love, to keep me going. You didn't have anyone to help you," Jasper's words were full of respect. I let out a soft chuckle.

"Jasper, I _never_ willingly fed on a human. The few times I have were only the direct result of utter starvation and complete loss of mind. I, like Carlisle, didn't want to be a monster from the moment I was reborn. Although I can't _quite_ be compared to him."

Jasper was quiet for a moment, gazing out at far off constellations.

"But I too had my own incentive. I still hoped I could one day find you guys again, and I knew that wish would be even more difficult to formulize if I let myself turn into a ravenous monster," I let out a slow breath.

"So how long did it take for Angela to "interest" you?" Jasper changed the subject quickly, purposely catching me off guard.

"Aw, come on, lay off!" I rolled my eyes with an exasperated sigh. "This has to be the fifth interrogation today!"

"I'm not interrogating you, we're simply having a discussion, brother-to-brother, pal-to-pal," Jasper shrugged.

"You know, it seems as if you _want_ there to be something with Angela and I," saying her name felt odd, embarrassing almost. How utterly pathetic I had gotten, and in only one day. Jasper just shrugged again. "Wait… is there something _you're_ not telling _me_?" Jasper had gotten quiet much too fast.

"You're right, I should lay off," Jasper retorted.

That wasn't obvious at all. Yet I suddenly felt unnaturally calm and at ease, all the tense confusion of today faded away into a white blur. I knew what Jasper was doing, trying to calm me to the point I would no longer find it necessary to take a little peek inside his head for the truth.

"Fine," I said smoothly, still sedated. "Enough for tonight." My emotions flushed back into me, practically internally hitting me with a thud. Even being back in my right mind, nothing having influence over me, I decided to stick with what I said.

Tomorrow I'd find out what Jasper was keeping from me, and something told me it connected with why Alice had been acting so weird before seventh period today.

Without speaking a word to each other, verbally or mentally, both of us got up and started to head back to the house. Upon arriving I headed up to Edward's room again while Jasper joined the movie-goers. There had to be something that could keep me busy for the seven hours left until school. Perhaps I'd explore Edward's music collection, it was quite impressive.

Before I knew it, morning had arrived. I had successfully covered most of the fifties classics Edward had in stock. Knowing his taste in music, I now had a newfound respect for him, as well as gratitude for unintentionally supplying me with something to occupy my time.

I quickly got dressed, trying to find something that might satisfy Alice more than yesterday's attire did. I settled on a dark red, button down shirt and dark jeans. Alice didn't even seem to notice when I walked down stairs, causing me to dramatically roll my eyes.

"What?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Nothing, let's head out."

Alice and I drove Edward's Volvo to school; he was going to ride with Bella. I got the same reactions in the parking lot as I did yesterday. Alice warned me that it would take a little while before the intense curiosity simmered.

"Bella must be driving," Alice said and sat down on a small bench near the curb. "I guess we can just wait for them," she sang out with a sigh.

I sat down next to her and looked around. Everyone was congregated in little groups, each discussing their own pointless matters. Turning my attention towards the parking lot I noticed a small blue car pulling in a space away from where Alice and I had parked. When the driver of the car got out, I stiffened. It was Angela.

She was right there, fifteen feet away from me, and she too, was very aware of it.

"Hi Alice, David," Angela said with a meek smile. I was impressed, she was approaching us. Her scent met my nostrils, sang down my throat and into my lungs. Last night I had declared to myself that I wouldn't let it overcome me in any way. I had to keep control of all my senses.

"Hi, Angela. How are you?" Alice sang with a bright smile.

"I'm fine," Angela replied. "How—"

"Hello, Angela," I spoke up, a bit late with my response.

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Angela smiled at me, "Ready for a second day?"

"Not remotely," I shrugged and returned her smile. Angela was working very hard to keep her nerves in check. She was still gazing at my face when she spoke again.

"So where are Edward and Bella?"

"We drove separately today, they're running a little behind," Alice said.

Angela nodded, and the silence returned. She just stood there for a moment, trying to act as casual as possible. From the angle I was sitting at I was able to notice that Angela was actually tall for a girl, standing at about five feet nine inches. Her waist was thin and curved smoothly into her small hips. Very pretty…

_Stop it!_ I growled at myself. It would be foolish for me to try and convince myself that Angela did not interest me, or have any type of affect on me. But there was a certain line I couldn't allow myself to cross. Whatever this weird feeling Angela caused in me, I couldn't let it get out of hand.

"Alice, I'll meet you in class. I'm going to walk Angela to hers," I said as I stood up. The words echoed from my lips, only half processed. Angela looked surprised, and I figured I probably looked a little caught off guard as well. Alice, however, looked completely normal. She just replied with a cheery, "Alright" and began to hum to herself.

I stood up and smiled at Angela. She tried to return the smile, but seemed slightly distracted. As the two of us began to walk along the sidewalk, heading towards Angela's class, it became apparent that there really was something different about Angela. I could feel a determination in her that she didn't have before. She was trying to focus on something.

That got me a little worried.

It wasn't long before we arrived at her Government class' door. Neither of us had spoken at all. Angela too had been so lost in thought that we hadn't noticed. I realized how silly this had been. Walking her to class? I barely knew her. And it needed to stay that way.

"I guess I'll see you in math class," Angela smiled up at me.

"Yes'm, I suppose you will," I smiled back, exposing some of my teeth. I heard her heart flutter, which of course made my smile widen.

"Thanks for walking me," Angela gave me a small wave and walked into her class. I took off, weaving through all the other students, and got to my own class within a few moments. Alice was already seated in the back.

I had been expecting her to ask several questions along the lines of, "What was that?" or, "Are you sure you're being careful?" but Alice didn't bring up the subject at all.

Classes seemed to go by a little faster than they had yesterday, and it was soon third hour. Sure enough Angela was seated two rows diagonally in front of me, just like she had said yesterday. Edward and Bella sat directly to my rear.

Conversation with both of them went just as smoothly as it had with Alice. It seemed that everyone was finally going to stop pestering about Angela. I felt a little guilty now, knowing that my feelings for her were more than slight _interest_. True, I hardly knew the girl, but it didn't really matter.

I fully knew that she confused the hell out of me. I knew she sparked emotions in which I was very unfamiliar with. And I knew I wanted to be around her, to protect her, and to take in her enchanting smell and features.

Was that wrong?

On one hand, I knew it was very wrong. It's the same as Edward felt when he first got involved with Bella. I wasn't someone that Angela should be involved with, regardless of how much I wanted to get involved with her.

Yet at the same time, I knew that Edward made it work with Bella. He had fallen in love, and now wasn't allowing him harming Bella to even be a possibility. _I could do that…_Again I cursed myself.

Angela turned around, getting something out of her bag that lay on the floor. Our eyes met while she sat back up, and something in her expression made me smile. _At the very least, I could carefully befriend her_. Although I very aware on the inside that my plan was a very pathetic and frail one. But it was good enough to satisfy me for the moment.

Not too long later did the bell rang. I was at Angela's side sooner than she could have anticipated. Oops. "I believe our next classes are in the same building."

Bella and Edward walked by us, his arm around her waist. "See you two at lunch," Bella said with a genuine, but distracted smile. The concern she had yesterday was gone. Bella and Edward had definitely been discussing this _situation_. I didn't want to go exploring both of their minds at the moment, but I was surely going to take my own turn at interrogating them tonight. They all were keeping something from me, Edward, Bella, Alice, Jasper, probably Carlisle and Esme as well, and I was going to find out what it was.

Angela stood up and flung her bag over her shoulder. Walking to fourth period was much like this morning, very little was said. But there was a slight comfort in being with Angela. Her frequent glances at my face, along with her brief smiles made me think that she shared the same feeling with me.

Fourth went by in a blink. I had spent the entire class thinking of Angela.

Alice and I met in the hall way and walked into the cafeteria together. There weren't quite as many heads turning to look at me as there had been yesterday, which added to my pleasant mood.

"Good day?" Alice asked, flashing her bright teeth at me.

"I suppose," I simply stated. It was almost like she was playing with me. I was about to give in and ask her what was going on that I didn't know about, but Edward and Bella's appearance took away my chance.

Angela joined us in the lunch line. Although her scent was still very mesmerizing, I was having luck with controlling myself. I also hadn't been breathing much. When we all sat down at our table I decided I couldn't take it anymore, I wanted to know what they were keeping from me.

I read Alice's mind, quickly finding what I was searching for. One of Alice's visions filled my head. It was of our family, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Edward, myself, and two other girls – Bella and _Angela_.

My poster became very rigid and I could feel the outrage flowing over my face. It all made sense now. Alice had seen the vision yesterday and talked to me before seventh period because she knew I had it with Angela. That is why she wanted me to be _careful_. It was also the reason Jasper had been talking as if Angela and I were already in a relationship with one another. And it was also the reason everyone had been acting completely different from yesterday.

_How could you have seen that, Alice? I barely know Angela!_ I snapped inside of her head. She eyed me, a bit shocked that I had chosen now to read her mind.

_It was very vague, David. I had a very similar vision with Edward and Bella, you know that._

_But they had known each other longer than a day!_ I replied, still outraged. _How could her fate already be damned like that?_

_David, calm down. It is not set in stone, as you are _very_ much aware. You are obviously attracted to Angela in an unusual way. What I saw was just a likely outcome of that attraction. _Alice was trying hard to calm me down, to no prevail.

_…How do I change it?_ I asked her after pausing for a moment.

Alice didn't answer right away. She was having trouble forming her words in her mind. _...We decided that it's up to you. It's your choice, David, just like it was Edward's choice. _

_What do you mean it's my 'choice'?_ I spat.

_It is up to you whether or not you want to get involved with Angela. I'm sure you know what I mean._

I had to soak that in. _No one's bothered by your vision, not at all?_

_Rosalie and Emmett don't know about it. We didn't find it necessary to inform them until you had made your decision. Esme and Carlisle were a bit shocked that this happened again, but they both agree that if you really are attracted to Angela, and if you really do begin to feel for her in "that way", then whatever you do they'll support you. Edward can empathize. He's shocked too, we all are, but he knows what it is like. David, you should talk to him tonight, he could help you. As for me and Bella, well we generally feel the same. I personally can understand it. You and Angela would be very good together…_

_Alice, enough. This is a bit more than I can chew at the moment. I've hardly begun to think anything through. There's also the fact that Angela has had no say in anything. Hopefully she'll have more sense than Bella and won't want to get involved with the eternally damned! _I slowly closed my eyes and sighed.

_David, you're the one that can access minds. If it's this clear to me that she feels that way about you, then you yourself should realize it. Just promise me this, you'll calm down and not do anything rash. We don't want you running off to Alaska like Edward did. Everything will be fine regardless of what you decide—_

_Not if I endanger this girl! What if I—_

_You won't, David. Just calm down. Take your own advice and let yourself get to know her. _

Although I wasn't near satisfied with Alice's suggestion, it was all I could handle for the time being. Things seemed to be going so fast.

_We're going to talk tonight,_ I heard Edward think to himself.

_Yeah, I guess we need to._

"You're not hungry?" Angela asked skeptically. Hearing Angela speak threw me off guard, letting her scent lure me into its trance.

"Not very, I'm alright," I replied, making sure my voice was calm and even. I gave her a complimentary smile as well. Angela took a moment to process my response. She seemed to be thinking about it more than I would assume was necessary.

"Oh," she said flatly before shrugging, "I guess this food isn't very good anyway. Although, you should still eat."

Angela was testing me. That was all too clear. I partially thought that she wanted me to be aware of it. Normally Angela would mind her own business and wouldn't feel the need to pry for any further information. But she was going further with me. Maybe Angela was getting suspicious…

_Of course she is_, I thought to myself. This is a girl that spends a good deal of her time around vampires. Her best friend is in love with a vampire. Everyone in this entire school is suspicious of us Cullens. It's a wonder that Angela hasn't caught onto the truth yet. And if it weren't for her self-content nature, she probably would have already demanded Bella to tell her it.

"I eat; Esme makes us a big breakfast every morning. She is a brilliant cook, fills me up till dinner," I gave her a sly expression, sending my own signal of no-surrender. I wasn't going to make anything easy for her. Angela was the last person I wanted to be interrogated by.

We filled the rest of lunch with a combination of silence and small, meaningless chatter. Angela was more talkative then she had been for the past two days, for whatever reason, determined to overcome her shyness.

It was easy to see Angela had a comfort with Bella, Edward, and Alice. She was trying to get that way with me, but whenever our eyes met her heart skipped a beat. Although I wasn't particular pleased with it, there was a large similarity with Bella's response whenever Edward touched or kissed her.

The bell released us once again. PE went by fast. I subconsciously responded to what was going on around me, hitting the volleyball without taking any notice to it. There was just too much to think about.

When my last period arrived my head was swimming with dozens of concerns. I was confused, angered, and upset with everything. Seeing Angela's face changed that. The combination of her marvelous scent and soft, warm hello washed away all of my previous thoughts. I was only thinking of her.

I spent the class period studying Angela, taking notice into everything that appealed to me. We occasionally exchanged some small conversations. Angela's small talk had definitely improved, yet there were times when her shyness crept back up upon her. At one point she got side tracked, staring straight into my eyes, and burrowing deep into my pupils. She sat there for a long moment before I finally decided to break it. I too was starting to get _entranced_. There was such purity in her gaze and features that I just couldn't help it. Angela's cheeks then flushed into a rosy blush, and I couldn't help but laugh.

She was beautiful. And I would no longer try to deny that.


End file.
